5 die in Bengal as Governor calls on President

West Bengal governor MK Narayanan on Friday met President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and briefed them about the law and order situation in the state, where a lot of panchayat poll-related violence has taken place.

“Many CRPF personnel are to be deployed ... I hope they are deployed. It is important to ensure the safety and security of people participating in the (panchayat) elections,” he told reporters.

His comments came on the day at least five persons died amid reports of booth capturing, rigging and intimidation in the third phase of the panchayat polls.

CPI(M) activists blocked rail and the roads in North 24 Parganas in protest.

“Booth capturing is going on at all places. Our supporters and the general public were not allowed to vote,” said Abdur Rezzak Mollah, CPI(M) leaders and former minister.

An officer of the State Election Commission said: “The poll panel would take responsibility only for incidents within the polling stations.”